October 2018

October 25, 2018

Anyone walking around my garden at the moment would think that I have gone bird crazy. I do like little bits and pieces of 'art'......especially of the rusty / metal type and have quite a few items scattered around my garden. Visitors would have seen the old air vent from the Tarnagulla Church that is situated as you drive in, or the rusty sewing machine in the garden near the classroom. There are also dragonflies, an echidna (who is starting to rust away), a dog and even a knitting sculpture. However my latest fascination seems to be with birds. It started with this bird cage that I bought as a prop for the shop. I thought that it would look better out in the garden (maybe due to Pinterest.....lol), so I planted a succulent in a container and hung it in the tree. That was a month ago and it has really taken off......it's even started to grow through the cage.

On our recent trip to Tasmania, we were lucky enough to be able to visit the famous Salamanca Market. It was only a 5 minute walk from our Motel and it was on the way to Craft Alive so we just had to stop and have a browse. This gorgeous little bird house came home with me. The fellow who makes them was very nice......the hardest part was selecting which one to buy. Now I'm wishing that I had bought a second one!

While at the market I also purchased 2 small rusty birds. As I was browsing the stall I saw that the lady had an old square bird cage with some 'birds' in it on display. My heart skipped a beat as I turned to Russell and said "That's like the one I've got at home! You know the one from Mum's that belonged to Mammar.....the one that you wanted to throw out!" So as of this morning it now hangs in the Pin Oak tree in 'Mum's Garden'.

Not quite bird related, I'm still looking for the ideal position for my Insect Hotel that I bought last year. It sat on the steps in the back porch for months and even had some insects take up residency. I have moved it in to the Buddleia bush for now.....just to see how it goes.

I do have one more bird cage left to use. It's the bigger version of the one with the succulent in it.........the bottom is a little rusty so it is empty.......well for the time being anyway!

October 24, 2018

I have been spending quite a bit of time out in the garden since we returned home from Tasmania last week. The wedding day is fast approaching and there are still a few jobs to do. To keep me on track, and being the list maker that I am, I made up a list of the different gardening jobs that I need to have done by Thursday of next week. This week I have crossed quite a few of them off the list, and I even managed to squeeze in a trip to Bunnings and Pearsons Nursery for some must have supplies and a few new plants. After a morning of weeding, deheading, and shoveling mulch, I decided to give my body a rest, mainly my back......the poor thing has taken a beating lately......and move my attentions to my hot house. Although I have plants growing in the hot house at the moment, it was time to plant some more vegetable and flower seedling ready for the garden. The top shelf is very handy for laying out all of the different seed packets and labels ready for sowing.

My bench is now full of plants and newly sewn seeds. The tomatoes up the far end are ready for planting out, and the last of the marigolds, queen annes lace, pincushions, and statice seedlings will go out in to the garden in the next few days.

While I was at it I gave the whole hot house a good clean out. Weeds had grown up in and behind the raised up beds as well as under the shelves. I sorted out my pots and seedling punnets, and even found this little fellow hiding in among the pots.

The Broccoli is still providing us with a few late small florets and my newly planted Sweet Potato seems to be going along okay in the warmth of the hot house. Time will tell if it will produce tubers but it will be fun trying.

Off to make a new revised list of the remaining gardening jobs, and pop my feet up.

October 22, 2018

Thanks to all of the ladies who rang this morning to book in to my 2019 Retreat in Simpson. If you forgot to ring in don't worry there are still a few places available. The new venue is great with excellent lighting, which means that we can fit an extra table in. The details were on yesterday's blog post, so check them out and let me know if you would like to attend.

For those already registered, please download the form and return it by 1st November to secure your place.

Spend two days with friends in Simpson while working on your stitching project/s. A two course lunch, with homemade morning & afternoon teas will be provided on both days. A Saturday evening light meal of soup and scones will also be included.

You will receive a special ‘Retreat Goody Bag’, and of course I will have the shop there!

Places are limited.....so book early to avoid missing out.

Not included: Accommodation is not included but there are options in Simpson, and Port Campbell, Timboon and Cobden are only 15 to 20 minutes away. Sunday breakfast is not included.

There will be no tutors at this weekend.

A deposit of $70 is required by 1st November 2018 to secure your place. The balance of $70 is due by 1st February 2019.

Cancellation Policy: If you cancel before 31st December, your deposit will be refunded in full (less a $10 admin fee). Cancellation after this date, refund will only be given if your place can be filled by someone else. Full refund if the day is cancelled by the organiser (Gum Valley Patchwork ).

Registrations will open at 9am on Monday 22nd October for anyone wishing to book in....no early registrations accepted. Please ring me on 0427 943 201 and leave a message with your details (and the names of anyone else that you are booking in for). I will contact you to confirm if you are successful in getting in and will send you a registration form to complete and return.

October 19, 2018

When we booked our trip to Tasmania for Craft Alive, we decided to take a few days either side of the event to play tourist and see a little bit of the island state. Over the next week I will write some posts about the places we visited and the experiences that we had. This post will be about an experience that I wish we didn't have. It happened on our first day. We left Devonport and decided to head to Queenstown, but we took the scenic route via Strahan. From there we traveled down a bumpy gravel road to check out Macquarie Heads, before heading back through Strahan and out towards Queenstown. I'm not sure what made me look out my side mirror but I did, and to my horror I saw that the door of the canopy (on the back of the ute) was wide open.......eeek! Russell quickly pulled over and we hopped out to see if anything was missing. A lid off a plastic tub was all that we could see......phew. Back in we hop and about 1 km up the wet and winding road Russell says....."How many bags of quilts did you have in the back?"

Me: "two".

Russell: "I think there is only one"

EEEEK!

We quickly pulled over again and checked. Sure enough there was just the one bag of quilts......and of course the one missing was the bag with my (favourite) 'Portage Lake' quilt and my 'Hugs & Kisses' Quilt in it. So around we turned to back track our drive. As we drove down the wet and winding road, we met two cars coming up the hill. A little further down the hill we see our very second hand lid off the plastic tub......obviously run over by the two cars we had met. And then we saw it.........laying in the middle of the lane.......my bag of quilts!

I could honestly not believe our luck in finding them. I thought for sure that they would've bounced off down an embankment, never to found again. The two cars must've straddled the bag as it lay on the road. I have never been so relieved in my life! On inspecting the quilts that night in Queenstown, we were surprised to find that there was not a mark on either of them. They weren't even wet. The same could not be said for my Clever Ducks Quilting bag.....although it wasn't really that bad when all said and done.

And why did the canopy door fling open? Well first we thought it must've been because of the bouncing on the rough road, but when it happened again turning into our motel in Queenstown, a closer inspection revealed a 50 cent grub screw had come out, the rod had rattled out which caused the door to spring open. We didn't even have to buy another grub screw as Russell found it on the floor in the canopy and was able to fix it.

Note to self.......check the grub screws and put the quilts in the cabin with us next time!

October 18, 2018

After an absolutely fantastic week and a bit in Tasmania, we sailed back into Melbourne yesterday morning. We were home by lunchtime and unpacked just before the skies opened up and the rain fell. The one thing that I couldn't believe was how much the garden had grown in the time that we were away.......oh my goodness! When the rain eased up I ventured out to have a look around and couldn't resist in taking some photos.

This is what caught me eye as we drove in.........the trees are in full leaf and the roses are booming. Lots of buds.....just waiting on the next lot of warm weather and I might just see some colour.

The flowering cherry that was bare a week ago is in full blossom and the dutch iris underneath have appeared from nowhere. The rose arch (in the background) is covered with leaves and has never looked so green.

The standard Gold Bunny roses at the front steps are starting to bloom, but they aren't the only yellow showing in the garden......the Geums look set to bloom for many weeks.

Oh and my foxgloves are coming out too...........and the pile of mulch is still there.....lol!

The apple orchard that had only just a row or two of trees in blossom before we left, is now almost a sea of white.........

and check out my Golden Delicious Apple in my little orchard..........looks like it's going to be a great year for apples!

Jodie was on watering duty for the plants in the hot house while we were away. I left the doors open so that it wouldn't heat up too much, and I know that she was nervous with all of the responsibility.......lol! But she did an amazing job and the tomatoes (and most of the others) doubled in size......no joking!

I told Russell that my first job on Wednesday afternoon was to mow the lawns, but with all of the rain yesterday (and today) I haven't been able to get out and do it. It will be tomorrow's job as the weather is set to fine up, and also Monday's as I think that it will take a few goes to knock it back into shape!

October 03, 2018

Way back 12 months ago, the Timboon Garden Club visited my garden for one of their monthly walks. And whilst my garden wasn't perfect, it was a great night topped off by the presentation of a lovely plaque in honour of my Mum for all of her years service with the club.

The plaque has sat in the garden waiting for the right rock to be found so that it could be mounted. That rock was collected from Geelong a couple of weeks ago, when I picked up a load of free rocks to finish off a garden bed with. Today Russell ground off the surface a little bit and screwed it on for me. It now sits proudly at the corner of the garden bed that I made in memory of my Mum.

The garden bed has really grown well and I'm sure that Mum would love it.

October 02, 2018

Yes that was my reaction after I finished my latest garden modification this morning. Let me set the scene.

I have a row of alternating 'Lavender Dream' and 'Heideschnee' roses along the bottom side of the carpark. About 5 years ago one of the 'Lavender Dream' Roses decided to grow from below the graft, and no matter how hard I tried, I just wasn't able to stop it. So out it came. I haven't been able to find a replacement rose, and the spot remained empty.

Yesterday as I walked past the vacant patch, I thought that a small path through the trees and onto the large lawn area might be nice. It would also make it easier for me to move mulch around to the different garden beds.........and it was right between two of the trees which made it a perfect position. With a fine sunny day predicted, I headed out early and started work on the path. I moved some of the border plants and gathered up some spare rocks from another area of the garden. I dug up 2 large clumps of miniature white agapanthus, divided them up and they became the new border for the path.

All that's left to do is to pop some screenings on the track and it will be finished. I did give it test run this afternoon with the wheelbarrow, and oh my, I really do wish that I had done it years ago!

October 01, 2018

With the weather forecast tomorrow looking very Spring like, I am hoping to spend the day in the garden. I think that I have earned some green time after stitching up a storm over the past four days. The tubs are starting to fill up with kits and fabric, ready for the Craft Alive event in Hobart in just 12 days time. I have loaded up the kits on to my website, so if you are not able to make it to the shop or to Hobart, click on the links below and check them out.